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Episode 21
The Way to Capture a Prodigy is Round 21 of the anime adaptation of Morikawa Jouji's Hajime no Ippo series. Summary After Hayami's performance (and the departure of all girls and most audience), Aoki's match begins. In the nearly empty Kōrakuen Hall, Aoki barely manages to defeat his opponent with a left hook. With a month left before his match against Hayami, Ippo encounters Miyata at the gym, and talk about the tournament and their opponents. Miyata, noticing how insecure Ippo is, reminds him that the reason he left the gym was in order to fight him, so he should make it to the finals no matter what. At the Otowa Boxing Gym, Fujii and his partner arrive to talk to Hayami. The boxer tells them that he will not study any of Ippo's matches as he considers him a disappointment. He also tells them that his arrogant attitude is just a way of making boxing in japan more popular, which is the reason for which he takes advantage of all the attention from the media. He then begins training, and as Fujii leaves, he notes that Ippo just might lose this fight. The next day, Ippo is at school, where Umezawa goes to talk to him about a punch, which gives Ippo an idea. At the Kamogawa Boxing Gym, Ippo tells a surprised Kamogawa to teach him how to execute the counter. Kamogawa gets very angry at Ippo's request of learning a counter in the remaining time. Kamogawa initially refuses, but after being "cornered" by Ippo's determination, he agrees and warns him that it will be difficult training. They immediately begin. With Aoki as sparring partner, Ippo is unable to get the timing right, and receives many blows over the course of the days. While at Chuuka Soba, Takamura, Aoki and Kimura, are talking about an article where among the four best fighters of the East Japan Rookie King Tournament, Ippo's article is the smallest. After this, they decide to place bets, with Kimura choosing Hayami, Takamura, choosing Miyata, and Aoki being forced into picking Ippo. The trio go to Ippo's house where they find him with a fever, but despite this, he still wants to test his counter with Aoki, intent on not wasting any time. When the semi-finals for the East Japan Rookie King Tournament finally arrive, both Hayami and Ippo enter the ring, with the latter showing a swollen face full of bruises, and massive media coverage for the former. As Kōrakuen Hall is divided between cheers (with all girls in favour of Hayami), both fighters are introduced. Before the bell rings, Kamogawa tells Ippo that the counter chance will only come once. In the locker room, Miyata and his father are getting ready, when the former makes a mistake, which causes his father to scold him, he stops noticing it is time for Ippo's fight and begs him to win. Ippo has in mind what he was told by Kamogawa, and is ready to battle as the bell rings. The fight starts with both boxers engaging in a highly technical exchange where neither one connects a proper hit. Ippo has in mind that there is only one chance for a counter, and Hayami gradually speeds up his movements. Ippo cornered, is finally caught with a punch, but it has no effect, he responds with a hook that despite hitting on a guarded opponent, still sends him away. Ippo successfully gets close to Hayami and attentively watches his left, waiting for the uppercut, but Hayami never uses it. It is revealed by Hayami's coach, that Hayami intends to in-fight, as a way to prove his superiority. Ippo realises this and accepts. Manga and Anime Differences * In the manga, Ippo's idea comes from a conversation with his mother, while in the anime, the conversation is completely different and happens at his school, with Umezawa and his gang. Category:Season 1 Episodes Category:Anime Episodes